Horseshoe for pitching contests



' Apr. 24, 1923.

G. W. MAY

HORSESHOE FOR PITCHING CONTES TS Filed Nov. 9, 1921 l'rlttllttltltltitltlftlltil lt tll t lE lElIt at! my lilaa,

' application filed lt'overcher it, that. arterial lilo. tilfln'i'tr.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that l, Grouse W. Mar, a citizen of the United tltates, residing at lthron, in the county of Summit and Eitate oi Ohio,

t have invented certain new and useful llil'i" provements in Horseshoes for Pitching; Contests, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the game or art W of pitching horseshoes, the practice of which game is familiar to many, and which has oi recent years attained a considerable and in: creasing popularity. pitching horse-shoes hasbeen given considerable study by those who are expert and has been developed into a scientific pursuit, in which many experts are now engaged. its

a horse-shoe is an irregularly shaped body generally elliptical and open at one point,

and as it is usually provided with callrs or the like, its action as a projectile in passing through the air is the compound oi? many forces acting" in diil'erent directions. The landing of the shoe at the stake and its at position of rest are also factors which enter into the contest, the object being to place the shoe in such position on the stake that itemsnotihe dislodged, by the opponent, and it possible to cause the shoe to land in suchposition that it will block the stake tor the opponent.

Horseshoe pitching; contests are played in expert or championship games, with stakes slightlyinclined at a distance oiitorty feet, the ground or court around the stairs being usually asoltt clay. a

l have given the art of horse-shoe pitching considerable time and study and it is the purpose of the presentinvention to so construct a shoe that its flight through the air can be easily and accuratel governed and so that its position at the stairs will he as advantageous possible.

These and other objects will appear as the description proceeds, it being understood that, except, as such matters are material to the invention, 1 am not confined. to details or dimensions and proportions herein de scribed.

Ut late, the art of la the drawings:

l plan. view of the horse-shoe of my invention.

Fig. ft is an elevation of the toe of the shoe.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of l' ip; 4i is a section on the line it-dof his". 1.

ends ot a shoe.

The shoe is so formed that it is evenly balanced throughout, the center of gravity being located slightly forward oi the actual or geometrical center point.

llroni the opening at the rear or heel, the shoeis formed with straight inwardly diverging portions which extend to about the point 3, as indicated by the line F, a distance slightly more than one-tourth of the total leuntl'i oi? the shoe. in horse-shoes formerly used. tor pitching purposes, the ends oi the shoe customarily curved inwardly from the heel or point. As a result of this construction. when the shoe is thrown toward the stake, should the side of the shoe near the opening}; st ike the stake, a spinning action. is set up which tends to throw the shoe away from the stake. All expert horseshoe pitchers strive to throw the shoe with a fixed turning movement and to make the shoe land with the openin toward the stake, the shoe striking the ground with sufficient velocit; to cause it toslide forward until the inside oi. the toe of the shoe is at the stake. l l ith my construction, it the inside of the shoe strilros against the stairs a short distance in, the tendency for the shoe to spin will not arise, but the shoe will go straight in toward the stake. V l

The inner and outer surfaces of the shoe are formed on curves ot gradually decreasinp: radius until it reaches the smallest radius rt. at thetoen The successive radii are noted hy the letter-std, Q, fill and E. As a result of this construction there is tormedat the toe oi the shoe a pocltet or sharp concavity and as the shoe passes into the stake it will tend p to rest at ahoutthe center of the toe against 5 an elevation of one of the open or open end approximately 1 inch; at the point marked X it is increased to about 1-1 inches, and at the point X it is approximately 13 g inches which width is maintained to the toe. These dimensions are by way of example merely and illustrate the gradually increasing breadth of the arms of the shoe,

which in combination with thecalks to be described later, places the center of gravity of the shoe at about the center A. This places the center of gravity of the shoe at such a pointthat its flight through the air can be more easily controlled, the heavy toe end causing the toe calk to bury itself firmly in the ground.

On the toe portion of the shoe is formed the calk 4. In prior horseshoe constructions this calk is'formed in a straightline or as a chord across the toe of the shoe, and has usuallybeen set back from the edge of the shoe a slight distance. construction the calk is rounded and is placed at the outer edge of the shoe so that as shown in Fig. 3 the front edge of the shoe 5 is formed in a-straight line at a slight backward taper, flush with the outer surface of the shoe. The rear edge of the calk 6 is tapered at a slightly greater angle.

' Several valuable results are obtained by this construction. In pitching shoes it is the aim of the player to throw the first shoe as a ringer, and to throw the second shoe also as a ringer, if possible, or to lock the first shoe so that it cannotbe knocked away by his opponent. The curved or are shaped calk of the present shoe will often drop down or rest within the curve on the inside of the first shoe firmly locking itself and the other shoe, in position. With the former straight calk at the toe portion, the calk on the second shoe would, often span the curvature on the first and could, be easily knocked away.

The tapering surfaces of the calk causes the shoe to bury itself deeply in the clay of the court. By placing the calk so that its outer surface is continuous or flush with the outer surface of the shoe, should the shoe strike the court on edge. it will not bury it self in the ground. in upright .or inclined position, as with former constructions. but 7 will fall to the ground. This action of the shoe' will often mean a ringer which would be lost if the shoe stood up in the ground.

Thecalks'f. atgthe heel or openend of the ma in. m h the sei ev manner as the toe calk-for shnilarmasons';

In my present In perfecting the shoe in the manner described it has been my purpose to correct some of the faults which have developed from the use of ordinary horse-shoes, or former shoes manufactured solely for pitching purposes. I have made an extensive study of the art of shoe pitching and believe that I have produced a shoe for this purpose which involves new principles and actionsof the shoe both as a projectile and in landing at the stake. I believe that I am the first to design a shoe with these points in mind and am entitled to a broad range of equivalents and to liberal scope in the consideration of the attached claims.

Claims:

1. A horseshoe for pitching purposes, the arms of which converge to an unobstructed opening at the heel portion of the shoe, the

inner surfaces of the arms being formed as straight lines diverging from the opening and extending to points between one-third and one-fourth of the total length of the.

shoe, thereupon merging with a curved line extending over the remainder of the shoe. whereby, should the shoe strike the stake against its inner surface. a spinning action will, be set up only after the shoe has passed the stake between one-third and one-fourth of its total length.

2. A horse-shoe for pitching purposes, the arms of which taper gradually from the toe portion of the shoe to the open ends or heelportion. and. provided with a calk located on, ,the toe portion of the shoe so as to place the centcnof gravity of the shoeon the toe side of the geometrical center.

3. A horseshoe for pitching purposes. said shoebeing provided with an integral elongated arc-shaped calk at the toe and with calks extending across the two heels, said calks being placed flush with the outer edge of theshoc at the toe and with the ends of the heel portions respectively. the shoe being so designed and proportioned that the center of gravity of the shoe is on the toe side of its geometrical center.

4, A horseshoe for pitching purposes. the arms of which taper gradually from the toe portion of the shoe to the open ends or heel portion; and provided with an elongated calk at the center of the toe portion and with. calks extending across the two heels. said heel calks being placed flush with the ends of the arms.

5. In a horseshoe. for pitching contests,

side of the geometrical center of the shoe, the open-ends of the shoe being formed on the combination of: a solid. substantially flat their inner surfaces with two straight lines emme from the opening of the shoe to a point be tween one-third and one-fourth of the total length of the shoe whereupon they mer e with a curved line over the balance of the 5 inner surface of the shoe, heel oalks at the extremities of the open end of the shoe said oelks extending transversely over the em shoe and is of e width approximately one half of the width of the her and is tapered outwardly thereof.

' GEORGE W. MAY. 

